Global cost of chronic disease treatment to top $47 trillion by 2030, more than triple current US national debt

Thursday, September 22, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: chronic disease, expenditures, health news

(NaturalNews) Between now and 2030, the aggregate global cost of treating the five most common, non-infectious diseases -- cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and mental health disorders -- will top $47 trillion, according to a new report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). And experts warn that if nothing is done to curb this escalating healthcare crisis, the global economy will most certainly collapse due to insurmountable financial insolvency.

To put this astronomical $47 trillion figure into perspective, consider the fact that the current US national debt is just under $15 trillion -- this means that at the current rate of growth, global healthcare costs associated with treating just these five diseases will exceed the US national debt by more than 300 percent in less than 20 years.

Put another way, the entire global gross domestic product (GDP), which represents the final value of all goods and services produced, was $63 trillion in 2010. Based on WEF figures, global treatment costs for the "big five" non-communicable diseases will represent a shocking 75 percent of the current global GDP by 2030.

In other words, no economy will be able to survive this approaching doomsday scenario, which is why the world's current course must change as soon as possible. WEF spokesmen and others commenting on the report highlight increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and encouraging less consumption of "salt and trans fats," as a helpful solution for reducing such costs. But such approaches are largely simplistic and do not fully address the root causes of non-communicable disease.

Truth be told, modern society in many industrialized nations is riddled with toxic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and pollutants that are wreaking havoc on both environmental and human health. The nature of genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in the food supply, reliance on processed foods as part of the Standard American Diet (SAD), and an overall complacency among many towards exercise, are also some of the primary factors contributing to this modern health crisis.

We here at NaturalNews, however, will continue to stress the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, which includes eating a whole food-based diet rich in disease-preventing nutrients. Superfoods, organic produce, pasture-based meats, healthy oils, medicinal herbs -- integrating these and many other health-promoting foods into mainstream society are a surefire way to reduce the disease epidemic, and significantly reduce the global healthcare bill in the process.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-econom...

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/...